Planting and Taking Care of Roses
This old time favourite still remains as popular today as it did 100 years ago although we now have many more species. Starting to grow roses can be a daunting task to any new gardener, however with guidance on rose planting and care, anyone can be a successful rose grower.
How to Plant a Rose
- Choose a location that gets a couple of hours of sun during the summer months.
- Dig a hole around 2ft deep and roughly twicethe width of the pot the rose is in. This is to allow the roots to spread.
- Back fill the hole with some tree/shrub/rose compost mixed with some farmyard manure to roughly fill up half the hole.
- Plant the rose into a hole and firm it in, adding more compost where need. You need to create a small mound around the base as once planted; when this is watered the compost is likely to sink a little bit.
- Water well.
Taking Care of Roses
Maintaining your roses is the key for success. From watering, feeding, pruning to disease prevention. Once you have the correct knowledge and tools, it makes rose care less daunting.
Watering
During growing season, roses will require at least 1 inch of watering each week. Typically rain is sufficient to keep a plant watered, but during those rare spells of drought, water the plant 3 times a week. Best practise is to water the soil and not the plant. Roses like to be wet but not soaked.
Disease
Rose are susceptible to fungal diseases like black spot & powdery mildew, typically this will become more of a problem from June onwards but it is easier to prevent than cure. The older the species the more likely it is to be effected. Spraying regularly with Rose Clear during growing season is the best possible way to reduce the risk of such diseases.
Feeding
Whether you choose organic manure or a granulated feed, it’s extremely important to feed your roses each spring; this will promote healthy growth for new growing season.
Pruning
To keep your rose healthy and to control the shape and size of your rose, it is important to prune your rose each year. While it’s advised to carry out some light pruning and removing dead branches & buds in autumn; it is advisable to wait until very early spring time to prune, otherwise, you open a big wound on the plant while there is still hard frost around. Always use a good quality secateurs when carrying out any
pruning. We prune roses for a number of reason:
1. Control the size to ensure that it does not get out of hand
2. Encourage blooming for the next growing season
3. Remove dead branches
4. Encourage airflow throughout the plant and reduce the risk of disease
Depending on the type of rose, there are different techniques that may need to be carried out but in most cases the below will offer some guidance: make all cuts at a 45 degrees angle about ¼ inch above the bud and slanting away from the bud to prevent rain from collecting at the bud.
Check out our step-by-step guide on how to prune roses here.
Using chip bark mulch around the base of your rose is a perfect way to hold moisture in during summer which also suppresses any weeds or suckers. It also keeps the ground temperature warmer in the winter by proetctingthe soil and not allowing it to freeze.
Ready to transform your garden into a rose haven? Find everything you need here.
